Some friendships are forever
by Zura4eva
Summary: Katsura is acting strangely and Gintoki is trying to understand why. This is my first fic so please review!
1. Doubts

_'Gintoki!'_

_'Eh?'_

_'Don't change. It would take a lot of effort to kill you. I'd rather not do it.'_

_'Zura, if you change I'll be the first to cut you down!'_

It was one of those nights; the moon's ethereal silver light shone upon the Kabukicho district of Edo. Though it was late, the busy district was still abuzz with life as its inhabitants walked up and down the roads moving from one place to another. Many shops had signs with bright lights of various colours which invaded the senses of those who passed under them, beckoning them to enter.

As the silver haired samurai walked along the buzzling streets, his mind was beset with countless memories. Whenever he was idle, he would always remember the old days when his life had been much different and his sensei and his comrades were still alive...

He stopped in front of a ramen shop which he often frequented and opened the door.

'Sorry, we're closed - Ah Gintoki! Long time!' Ikumatsu, the owner of the shop beamed at him as he approached and took a seat.

'Yep, have to watch my wallet now that I've got unwanted kids in my house.' As he said this he couldn't help the smile that came to his lips. Kagura and Shinpachi were anything but unwanted; they were like family to him. He looked around with lazy red eyes and noted that no one else was around.

'Don't worry, he'll be here soon.' The ramen shop owner said knowingly, a small smile on her face. 'How about I make you something while you wait? Don't worry, it's on the house.'

'Oh, in that case can I have a strawberry parfait, red beans on rice and-'

'Hey! That's not the kind of food I'm talking about! Is that even food?!' She couldn't help yelling.

'Alright, alright, how about some strawberry _milk_ and some odango-'

'As if that's any different!'

The door slid open as they were speaking and a man wearing a straw hat on long, silky dark hair entered. He placed his straw hat down before approaching, his serious brown eyes examining the situation before him. He gave a knowing smile.

'Still taking strawberry milk after all this time? Why don't you grow up?'

'Look who's talking. You asked us to meet and you can't even come on time!' Gintoki snapped as Katsura sat down on the seat next to him.

'You always come late. Didn't expect you to be early today.' Having said this, he turned to Ikumatsu and inclined his head slightly. 'Ikumatsu-dono, it's good to see you.'

'Yes, Katsura, good to see you too. Now, what would you guys like?' She asked, looking from one to the other.

'Soba, if you don't mind.'

'Straw-'

PUNCH!

'Ah ah, ramen is fine.' Gintoki remedied as he wiped at his bloody nose.

As Ikumatsu proceded to cook the selected dishes with a disturbingly satisfied smile, Gintoki noticed his friend watching her silently.

'Oi Zura, are you going to let me know why you asked me to come or are you going to just sit there and fantasize?' He hid a smile as Katsura blushed furiously.

'It's not Zura, it's Katsura!' Katsura shouted indignantly. He gave a sigh and returned to being serious.

'Really Gintoki, do I need a reason to ask you to meet with me?' He asked silently.

Gintoki's eyes narrowed slightly and he cocked his head to one side. For some reason, he felt like Katsura was hiding something from him. 'Is that it then? You could have just come to my place like you usually do.'

Katsura turned to Ikumatsu as she placed their food in front of them. 'Thank you Ikumatsu-dono.' He said gently.

'Sure. I'll leave you guys to talk.' She replied before doing just that and leaving the room. Gintoki took up his bowl and began eating as Katsura went on to speak.

'I wanted to meet you here because I didn't want the kids to be around. I wanted you to be alone this time.'

'You're creeping me out.'

Katsura gave one of his annoying laughs. It reverberated around the room and grated on Gintoki's nerves.

'Only you can think of such disturbing things, you perm haired freak.' He said with an irritating smile on his handsome face.

'What the hell? Where did that come from?!' Gintoki wondered as Katsura helped himself to some Soba.

Having had enough, he put down his half finished bowl of ramen, stood up and held Katsura by his haori. Katsura was surprised to say the least, but then his face relaxed and he pushed Gintoki back. Both of them stood now and stared into each other.

'What's going on Zura? You're acting strangely today.'

The white haired samurai watched as his friend closed his eyes and looked at him intently.

'I've been thinking lately. About how things have changed; the paths we have taken that have led us to where we are today.' As he said this he looked outside the window. 'You have made it clear you won't join the cause and I realise I can't convince you. I want to say farewell, Gintoki. I may not see you again.'

As he said this Gintoki's eyes widened._ What was the damn idiot saying? He was going to throw away a friendship of almost twenty years because of his cause? Did all they had gone through mean nothing at all?_

'What?' Was all he could voice out.

'Goodbye Gintoki.' Zura said after a slight pause. He had returned to looking outside the window.

Gintoki couldn't believe what was happening in front of him. Then something came to mind and he smiled, almost desperately.

'Zura, you idiot. Are you trying to blackmail me into joining you? It won't work.'

'I know. I have tried that before remember?'

'Then why?! If something is going on-'

'I cannot continue to associate with you when we no longer share the same goals. If I want to move this country forward I need to be focused on that and that alone. I cannot afford any distractions. That's all.'

_'You're calling your friends 'distractions'?' _Gintoki wondered in shock_._

Katsura looked at him for a moment before reaching for his hat.

'Farewell then.' He said quietly, proceding to walk out the door.

Gintoki fell silent at this. Instead of speaking, he took up his bowl of ramen and continued to eat.

'Zura, when you were saying goodbye why did you keep looking at the window? If you are going to leave forever, the least you can do is look into my damn face.' He said between mouthfuls.

Katsura stopped in his tracks and turned to him in surprise . He sighed purposefully and looked into Gintoki's almost dead looking red eyes.

'Good-'

BOOM!

The sound of a bazooka interrupted him and the two turned to see the Shinsengumi approaching.

'Die Katsura!' The Vice Commander Hijikata Toshirou shouted.


	2. Motives

Debris and smoke came flying as Katsura and Gintoki shielded their faces from the Shinsengumi's assault.

'Tch! Bakufu dogs.' Katsura muttered under his breath as he ran out the back.

'Zura!' Gintoki shouted after him.

'It's no use! You've been surrounded!' Hijikata yelled with a triumphant smile. He turned piercing blue eyes to the men behind him. 'Follow him! Make sure he doesn't escape!'

'Yes Vice Captain!' They shouted in unison, heading in the direction the freedom fighter had run off to.

As Gintoki watched them run off after his friend, he couldn't help but wonder at all that had occurred. He was snapped out of his musings, however, by a familiar 'click' sound around his hands.

'Eh?' He raised the aforementioned hands and stared at the shiny silver handcuffs that had been placed there. Hijikata gave him a smirk.

'You are under arrest.'

* * *

_'Everyone, this is Gintoki. He'll be joining us from today.'_

_'My name is Katsura. Katsura Kotarou. Nice to meet you.'_

* * *

'Keh, I should've known a pest like you would be having secret meetings with terrorists.' Hijikata sneered as he examined Gintoki from the other side of the interrogation table with his ever present cigarette in his mouth and a plate of odangos smeared with a generous helping of mayonnaise in front of him. Standing by his side was Okita Sougo, Captain of the 1st Division, who looked on with dancing reddish-brown eyes and a smug grin.

'Like I already said, I was having a late night meal when he showed up.' Gintoki repeated through low, bored eyes. 'Tch, I knew I should have just gone fishing instead.' He muttered to himself.

'Like hell that happened! You think I'm some kind of idiot huh?!' Hijikata demanded.

'Only idiots can turn odangos into dog shit!' Gintoki retorted, looking at the aforementioned odangos in disgust.

'What was that?!' The two butt their heads at each other and cringed their teeth.

'How long are you scumbags going to keep me here anyway?!' Gintoki demanded, examining the small room in irritation. It was extremely warm and claustrophobic and he had been in here for more than eight hours. To add insult to injury, the renowned chain-smoker had been smoking non-stop, making the room stuffy.

'You shouldn't expect to ever leave after what you did!'

'Why aren't the REAL police the ones interrogating me? At least they'll listen to sense!'

'We're not leaving terrorists like you in their hands.'

'TERRORISTS?!'

'Ah Hijikata-san, speaking of dog shit I forgot to tell you earlier...' Sougo began after a moment of silence prevailed in the room.

'What?!' Hijikata didn't turn away from Gintoki but Sougo continued anyway with what he was going to say. He pointed at the bottle of mayonnaise on the floor which Hijikata had used on his snack.

'That was the last bottle of mayonnaise.'

Silence.

'Hijikata-san?'

_Damn Yamazaki...I told him to buy more yesterday!_

The Vice Commander's eyes began to twitch.

_Stay. You have an interrogation to do! _

_Sougo can take over. Besides, if you don't go and check now, there won't be any mayonnaise for the sukiyaki you want to have later! _

'Are you feeling alright, Mayora-samurai?' Gintoki teased. Hijikata ignored him.

_Stay. _

_Go. _

_Stay. _

_Go! _

_Stay. _

_GOOOO!_

He raised himself up slowly and returned his gaze to Gintoki.

'Umm, excuse me. I'll be back soon.' He turned to Sougo. 'Sougo, take over.' With that he stormed out, leaving the two sadists alone in the room. Quick footsteps signaled his retreat.

'YAMAZAKI!' They heard him yell.

Gintoki mentally took in a deep breath as Sougo sat in Hijikata's place and leaned back in the chair, casually placing his arms behind his head.

'Katsura was able to get away from us. He used a hand bomb to scatter our forces and made his escape. Seriously, that guy has the lives of a cat.' He said.

'Is that so?' Gintoki asked with as much disinterest as he could muster. The younger samurai nodded his head

'We received a tip off that there would be a Joui meeting at that restaurant so we mounted surveillance.' He continued. Then he gazed into Gintoki's eyes. 'Boss, we've also been hearing multiple reports of Katsura involving himself in some suspicious activities.'

Gintoki felt his heart skip a beat. _No, that's not possible...just not possible...He would never go back..._

'I see.' Was all he said though he wondered why the brown haired sadist was informing him of this. Before he could think of asking, Hijikata returned with what looked like a bloody arm.

'Now then, where were we? Sougo, did you get anything out of him?'

'What can I say Hijikata-san? He's as tough as nails.'

'Is that so?'

'Umm...'

Gintoki had raised his hand prompting the two officers to turn sharply to him with surprise and curiosity on their faces.

'Hmm?'

'Can I have my phone call?'

'DO YOU THINK THIS IS A POLICE STATION OR SOMETHING?!'

* * *

_What the hell happened last night? He couldn't even look me in the eyes...that damn idiot!_

'Gin-san!'

'Gin-chan!'

Gintoki looked up as Shinpachi and Kagura ran up to the cell where he was being kept and knelt down in front of the bars.

'Be quick, we don't usually allow visitors into our cells. You have fifteen minutes.' Hijikata informed them before leaving and closing the door. The two turned to their leader with concerned expressions on their faces.

'Gin-san, what happened last night? This is the last place I thought you would be when I came in this morning.' Shinpachi started.

'Well...'

'Gin-chan probably got caught with his pants down in the women's toilet, ne Gin-chan?' Kagura responded with an all-knowing look on her cherubic face.

'Oi, what kind of guy do you think I am?' Gintoki wondered as Shinpachi shook his head.

'I'm sure it's all a misunderstanding and once we clear it up we can get you released.' He reasoned.

The two teenagers watched in astonishment as Gintoki's eyes briefly scanned the door that Hijikata had closed earlier checking whether it was properly shut before returning his attention to them.

'Gin-chan?'

'Shinpachi, Kagura...listen carefully...'

* * *

When the fifteen minute limit had elapsed, Yamazaki escorted the two teenagers out and promised to watch over the 'Boss' on their behalf. Shinpachi had noticed what looked like crusted blood in Yamazaki's nose and inquired about it.

'Oh this? It's nothing! I just tripped.' He said hastily in embarrassment as they reached the outside of the building.

'Stop looking at ladies' panties, you hear?' Kagura muttered as she started chewing on some sukonbu.

'That's not what happened!'

'Right, right.' She replied, disbelieving him. Shinpachi sighed and led her away.

'Some other time Yamazaki-san.'

'Yeah...'

After some hesitation the Shinsengumi officer returned indoors, leaving the two alone.

A quiet mood settled over them as they trudged slowly away, remembering their exchange with Gintoki when he had narrated what happened the other night.

_'Katsura-san did that? Strange!' Shinpachi had remarked._

_'There was something wrong with him. He wasn't even looking at me while he said all those things.' _

_'Do you think he was lying Gin-chan?'_

_Gintoki had looked down briefly in thought as he pondered the right answer to her question. He hadn't yet answered when Shinpachi added:_

_'Maybe he really meant it when he said that. Maybe he truly thinks we are distracting him from his cause...'_

_'You don't believe that anymore than I do.'_

_'Gin-san...'_

_Gintoki had looked at them then, his eyes full of purpose and determination._

_'Shinpachi, Kagura...I need you to find out what's going on. Don't do anything dangerous. I have a bad feeling about all this...'_

'Shinpachi, how are we going to go about this? Do you think Zura will tell us what we want to know?' Kagura asked. Shinpachi found himself shaking his head.

'If he didn't tell Gin-san, I don't see why he would tell us.' He said slowly, putting a hand to his chin as he pondered over some options.

'In the first place, we don't even know where to find him-'

'Oi Shinpachi-kun, China!'

The two turned round as Sougo came up from behind them.

'What the hell do you want?!' Kagura snapped before Shinpachi could ask. Sougo gave a wide smile, ignoring her tone and replied:

'Simple. I want to come with you.'


	3. Tensions

It wasn't easy being assistant to a combat-obsessed fighting machine, and when that combat-obsessed fighting machine was _bored_...Abuto couldn't help shaking his head as he cautiously walked behind his boss. Kamui hadn't explicitly _said _anything about being bored, but that in itself was the problem. His often-closed eyelids were now wide open, revealing intensely hungry, sharp blue eyes which darted from side to side while his hands occasionally twitched with impatience.

Whenever he was like this, it didn't matter who you were...so long as you were strong enough to provide him with the thrill of a good fight., he would fight you. With this in mind, Abuto planned to stay as far out of his sight as he possibly could. Though it was highly unlikely, he didn't want Kamui fighting _him._

He was snapped out of his thoughts when he heard his captain come to an abrupt stop in front of him.

'Captain?'

Kamui said nothing in response, prompting Abuto to seek out what had caught his attention. He inwardly sighed as he noticed Takasugi Shinsuke's right hand man, Kawakami Bansai approaching them. Abuto's gaze drifted back to Kamui, who quietly watched as Bansai approached and came to a halt in front of them.

'Ah, Admiral Kamui, Matako was looking around for you.' He said casually.

_Admiral Kamui._ Abuto found himself being reminded once again that Kamui was now the de-facto leader of the Harusame pirates now that Admiral Aho-... ahem, Admiral Abou was dead. Still, it was a pain to call him that so he preferred to stick with 'Captain'. Kamui didn't seem to mind...

'Oh?' Kamui replied with a smile. Bansai nodded slowly, hearing him even with those annoying headphones covering his ears. Speaking of which, why did he always have them on?

'Shinsuke is the one who sent her. I suppose he wishes to speak with you on something.'

Kamui's hands twitched and this caught the blue haired samurai's attention. Abuto noticed Bansai's stance changing slightly in response.

He was probably right to be wary and Kamui's smile only widened.

'Then I should go see him, shouldn't I?'

'Yes, you should I daresay.'

Kamui took on a combat stance as he examined the samurai in front of him, a look of glee spreading across his pretty boy face.

'You know, you were the first samurai I had ever seen, that day when you came to negotiate for our help against the Bakufu. It only makes sense that we should battle at least once, don't you think?'

Bansai shrugged.

'Perhaps I would have indulged you, if we had not been allies.'

'Allies? On the battlefield, allies and enemies are the same to me. All I ever want...is to follow my blood.'

Abuto figured he'd better stop it now before he lost another arm interrupting a full out battle...

'Captain, this could cause complications. Think for a second dammit. Think of how Takasugi will respond if you kill one of his best men!' Kamui turned to look at him briefly from the corner of his eye before returning his attention to the samurai in front of him.

'Kill him Abuto? No, no, I just plan to fight him...and possibly maim him, but not kill him! Tsk, tsk.' He replied, to his lieutenant's irritation.

'As if that's any different, idiot-'

'Boredom brings out the worst in you doesn't it, Kamui?' A voice remarked, prompting them all to turn to its source.

Takasugi had entered the hallway with Kijima Matako following behind him. With his entrance, Bansai relaxed his stance and Kamui's eyes narrowed in irritation.

'Ah, Takasugi, ruining my fun are you?'

Takasugi chuckled.

'It seems I'm going to have to find a leash for whenever you get bored.' He teased.

Kamui smiled and relaxed his stance, standing upright. 'You should know by now that leashes can't hold me back.' He remarked, approaching the man he had sworn to fight...but only after the world had burned to dust.

It was because of this that Abuto had no doubt that at the very least, Takasugi was one of the few who would be able to get through to him. The dark haired war veteran turned his olive green eyes to Bansai, who didn't look bothered at all by what had occurred.

'Bansai...'

'Ah. I'll get back to my business.' With that he walked off as casually as he had come into the darker reaches of the ship. After he was gone, Kamui returned his attention to Takasugi, a curious glint now gleaming in his deep blue eyes.

'So then, why did you want to see me?' He asked.

The one eyed samurai beckoned for him to follow him and led the way out. Kamui gave Abuto a look which the older warrior knew to mean he should remain, so Abuto did just that and watched as his captain and Takasugi went away to talk.

'What a pain in the ass...'

* * *

'How long are you tax robbers going to keep me here?' Gintoki yelled from behind his bars as an officer brought him his lunch. Hijikata was not too far from them, leaning on a wall by the door and he took out a cigarette from his pocket.

'For as long as you keep insisting you don't know Katsura or aren't connected in any way with the Jouishishi, _Shiroyasha.' _Hijikata replied nonchalantly as he lit the cigarette with his lighter. After exhaling some smoke, he turned his cold eyes to the imprisoned man in front of him. A cruel smile adorned his face as he asked:

'What's the matter? Missing your parfaits?'

'Bastard...'

The Vice Commander just shrugged his shoulders.

'Well, if you want to leave so badly, you know what to do.' He said simply, exiting the room and leaving Gintoki by himself.

Gintoki banged the cell bars in frustration before giving a deep sigh and lying against the wall, his eyes gazing distantly at the ceiling. He hated being alone sometimes...especially in circumstances like this. His mind was straying into past memories before he even knew it. One memory in particular started to play over and over again.

_It was after one of their victories, when they had successfully repelled an Amanto advance. The rebels had celebrated briefly before turning in to rest, too weary and deprived of energy to fully express their joy. _

_Gintoki, however, found he couldn't sleep so he decided to take a walk around until he would get tired enough. It was as he was walking outside, taking in the desolate atmosphere around him, that he noticed a lone figure sitting under a tree and approached to get a closer view. The first thing he noticed was the person's natural perm, similar to his, causing him to smile slightly._

_'Tatsuma.'_

_Sakamoto turned slightly in surprise at hearing his name but when he realized who had called him, he relaxed and smiled warmly._

_'Oh, Gintoki, can't sleep?' He asked as Gintoki came up and sat next to him._

_'I should be asking you that question.' Came the reply. Sakamoto shrugged his shoulders slightly._

_'I sometimes come here to clear my thoughts, that's all.'_

_'Thoughts?'_

_'Yeah...' At this the brown haired samurai sighed and motioned to the remnants of the battle they had won. 'We had a decisive victory today. Everyone is happy about that but...'_

_'You have mixed feelings?'_

_'I guess I do. __Just thinking about the countless people that died here. How long can we keep this up?' He wondered gravely._

_Gintoki had looked down at that, for those sentiments mirrored his own and he didn't have an answer for them. When Tatsuma realized he wouldn't get a response he continued._

_'I guess I shouldn't be so thoughtful.' Gintoki shook his head._

_'No, there's nothing wrong with that. That's just how you are, always looking at the future.'_

_'What are you guys doing here?' A voice asked, causing them to turn and see Takasugi and Katsura walking up to them._

_'Takasugi, Zura...'_

_'It's not Zura, it's Katsura.' Came the automatic response._

_Gintoki realized they were waiting for a response to Takasugi's earlier question and scoffed._

_'What, we can't come out and enjoy a bit of fresh air without you asking us questions?'_

_'There's nothing fresh about this air.' Takasugi deadpanned to Gintoki's irritation._

_'Well, what are YOU guys doing here?' Gintoki returned._

_'We realized you two were missing and came to check if you were here, moron.'_

_'Who are you calling a moron, pipsqueak?'_

_'What was that?!'_

_Katsura sighed, catching their attention. He was also looking out at the field in front of them._

_'What a sad victory.' He mused, almost to himself._

_'Ahahahaha! So, you feel the same way, Katsura?'_

_'It's not Katsura, it's- whoa!' Katsura had turned his gaze to Sakamoto now, seemingly shocked that he had been called rightly. He seemed to notice something in happy-go-lucky samurai's face for he asked:_

_'Is everything okay, Tatsuma?'_

_Sakamoto had laughed off his concern but Katsura wasn't fooled. He joined them on the floor and folded his arms in his haori._

_'Maybe, just maybe, one day all of this will make more sense. The ideals that those who died today fought for will be realized.' He said softly._

_'Those ideals will not bring them back.' Gintoki almost spat._

_'No, no it won't...'_

_'Don't be such wussies.' Takasugi had scolded, prompting them to turn to him in unison._

_'Takasugi...'_

_'These men were willing to die for our country to be free. They knew what the risks were when they joined. The only way to properly see them off is to win this war and make sure their sacrifices were not in vain. You think if we stopped now it would make us or them any happier?'_

_'That's cold.' Sakamoto had replied angrily, surprising both Gintoki and Katsura._

_'But it is what it is.'_

_An awkward silence settled over them for a while but thankfully it was interrupted when Katsura began shuffling for something in his pocket, catching their attention._

_'I think I know something that will cheer us up...' He said._

_'Hmm?'_

_'UNO!' He replied happily, as he brought out some cards. _

_Sakamoto and Gintoki couldn't help the smiles that came to their faces and Takasugi had sighed. They knew Katsura was trying to do._

_'Sure, whatever.'_

_So they had spent the rest of the night playing UNO, temporarily forgetting their worries and living in the moment. Gintoki had, at some point in the game, looked at Katsura and inwardly smiled at just how good he could be sometimes at diffusing the atmosphere with his silly games._

_'Zura...' He had said. The raven haired samurai had turned to him then._

_'What is it, Gintoki?'_

_'You'd better not die on us, okay?'_

_'Huh?' Katsura and the others had been surprised at his question but Gintoki hadn't elaborated, even when he had been asked._

The memory ended and Gintoki found himself sighing again. 'Mataku...' He whispered.

Outside, the Commander of the Shinsengumi, Kondo Isao, met up with Hijikata, who was still smoking.

'How's the interrogation going, Toshi?' He asked his deputy. Hijikata exhaled some smoke slowly before answering.

'He's not talking although, I doubt he was participating in any Joui activities.'

'I see. Keep interrogating him anyway.'

'Hmm?'

Kondo shrugged and elaborated.

'It would be suspicious of us to let go of someone who was in the same room as Katsura when we were told he was going to have a meeting. If it had been anyone other than the Yorozuya, we'd probably be torturing him by now to get the facts.' Hijikata nodded in understanding.

'That's true. Okay, Kondo-san, we'll keep him here a bit longer then.'

'Good, good.' He said patting the younger man's shoulders and walking away. The Vice-Commander found himself looking at Kondo's retreating frame, though he did not know why.

* * *

Elizabeth entered Katsura's room as he was looking out the window and held up a sign. Katsura turned round.

I'M GOING SHOPPING. WE'VE RUN OUT OF SOME THINGS

'Oh, is that so Elizabeth? Okay, but don't spend too much time outside.' The penguin-duck nodded and held up another sign.

IS THERE ANYTHING YOU WANT ME TO BUY FOR YOU?

'No, thank you. I'm okay.'

ARE YOU SURE KATSURA-SAN? YOU SEEM UNHAPPY TODAY, LIKE YOUR SHAMPOO HAS FINISHED OR SOMETHING

Katsura smiled slightly.

'There's still plenty of shampoo and conditioner left, no worries.'

OKAY, KATSURA-SAN. I'LL BE BACK SOON

With that, he walked out. Katsura's smile faded and he returned to viewing the outside of his window. A question was reverberating throughout his mind as he quietly watched the clouds moving in the sky.

_What am I doing?_


End file.
